Chester Rows fire protection exercise 3 April
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service are taking part in a planned fire exercise on Chester Rows next month (Thursday 3 April).
This follows the successful upgrading of the fire protection on Chester’s Rows to provide an ‘early warning’ in the event of a fire. Charles Thomas Heritage Fire Protection Specialists worked alongside Heritage Architects, Donald Insall Associates, and Heritage Contractor, Recclesia last year.
Before the exercise starts there will be a presentation at Chester Fire Station with representatives from NW heritage fire group, Historic England and the Council, looking at the Fire Action Plan since 2019.
The exercise will start at 10am with controlled smoke pellets being set off on Bridge Street Row. The alarm system will alert CCTV cameras that will lead to a 999 call. The CCTV system will be able to confirm if there is a visible fire.
The Fire and Rescue service will send an appliance to the scene to locate the source of the reported smoke.
The risk of fire on the Chester Rows is taken very seriously and a lot of work has taken place over the years. Protecting against fire includes many elements including waste storage, the Rows consent scheme, the new aspirating system, inspections, reporting and reducing vacancies on the Rows. This new system is designed to detect smoke and raise an early alarm for the emergency services. The test will be checking for both early detection and reducing the likelihood of false alarms. We are grateful to everyone involved in this exercise which may be cancelled at short notice if fire appliances are called to a real emergency.
We have worked closely with the Council and our project partners to test the system thoroughly - improving early detection of signs of fire on the Rows, rapid response, and reducing false alarms for our emergency service. This is a fantastic example of public services working together to protect an irreplaceable landmark for future generations to enjoy.
Members of the public and businesses will not need to report the smoke to the emergency services, there will be signs in place confirming this is an exercise.
The exercise is planned to be completed by 10.30am, there will be no road closures during the exercise.
The Council’s Heritage Action Zone project has delivered structural restoration work across the City Rows in addition to events and activities in and around the historic buildings.
Charles Thomas Heritage Fire Protection Specialists worked alongside Heritage Architects, Donald Insall Associates, Heritage Contractor, Recclesia, and a number of other consultants.
The work began in December 2023 to upgrade the necessary equipment in the existing Fire Alarm Panel enclosures.
The second phase installed new sampling pipework, which runs high-level along the Rows with the majority being above the elevated Stallboards. The work was carried out to reduce disruption to residents, businesses and shoppers.
The project was co-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.